First, links to reports from Reuters, the Associated Press, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their initials or names below. Then, a link to a conversation between a retired U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer and the host of MOATS (Mother Of All Talk Shows).— MCM

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Russia shells eastern front, Ukraine says, as war aims appear to shift, by Vladyslav Smilianets | Reuters * Fiercest fighting near eastern towns of Bakhmut, Avdiivka * Ukraine says it attacked Russian positions in south * Russia-U.S. prisoner swap: basketball star for arms dealer * Putin accuses West of using Ukraine as ‘cannon fodder’ | NEAR BAKHMUT, Ukraine — Russian forces have shelled the entire front line in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said, part of what appears to be the Kremlin’s scaled-back ambition to secure only the bulk of territory it has claimed. The fiercest fighting was near the towns of . . . READ MORE . . .

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Helping Ukraine is ‘self-preservation,’ finance chief says, by David McHugh | AP  FRANKFURT, Germany — Ukraine’s finance minister says crucial Western financial support is “not charity” but “self-preservation” in the fight to defend democracy as his country deals with growing costs to repair electrical and heating infrastructure wrecked by Russian attacks.“It’s not charity to support Ukraine,” Serhiy Marchenko told the Associated Press in an interview Thursday from Kyiv. “We are trying to protect freedom and democracy of all [the] civilized world.” READ MORE . . .

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NATO is increasingly involved in Ukrainian conflict – Russian Deputy MFA. From Tass. MOSCOW — NATO countries are increasingly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, with the United States intentionally proceeding with an escalation on this track, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Thursday. “NATO members are . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine is one of the most corrupt countries on the planet and is lying about its dead. British talk show host George Galloway interviews Scott Ritter sometime during or after French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent state visit in the United States. Click HERE to listen and watch.

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TO BE CONTINUED